Nobody is disputing the fact that poor people can buy more bling, entertainment centers, cell phones, and nights out than the working class. They have a right to choose these things over food, but since they are going to eat anyway, there is a presumed right to take from the thrifty to reward the profligate. Not long ago, the government had a great marketing campaign to persuade people who may have supposed they were ineligible for federal food assistance to reconsider.
On top of untold neighbors helping neighbors, 231 agencies partner with MANNA Food Bank to avail free food for the food-hardshipped in Western North Carolina. According to records at MANNA, $159 worth of food relief flowed into the region. 1.8 million pounds came from a USDA program, and fear of cuts to the federal budget may be underlying the article in the Asheville Citizen-Times.
The Food Research and Action Center reports Asheville is now the “third-worst” US metropolitan area for “food hardship.” Only Bakersfield and Fresno were worcester. Last year, Asheville ranked seventh. “Food hardship” is defined as “not having enough money to buy food that you or your family needed” betimes in the last year. In the Asheville area, 23.8% of respondents were food-hardshipped, but 29.9% of children were. The national average was 18.6%, up from 18.0% last year.
. . . the study on the hunger issue, which affects tens of thousands of people in the Asheville area, doesn’t even account for people in rural areas, where unemployment rates tend to be significantly higher.
It is speculated the Great Recovery may be lagging in Western North Carolina. An article in the Mountaineer compiled statistics proving conclusively what appears to be all gloom and doom is actually Recovery in embryo. In conclusion, when government cuts are being considered, expect opposition from mainstream newspapers.
